It’s clear where the battle line is drawn in college football this season. Trace it west along the southern Missouri border and then south along the eastern edge of Oklahoma and Texas. That pretty much represents the border between the Big 12 and Southeastern conferences, which are dominating college football this season as few leagues ever have.

They make up seven of the top 10 in the first BCS rankings and nine of the top 15. Let’s face it. College football is the Big 12 and the SEC. Then throw in USC and Penn State, with Ohio State hoping pollsters with lousy memories pick it for a third consecutive national title game.

For all those around here thumbing their noses at the SEC and tossing out Big 12 passing stats like so much presumptuous confetti, I have news for you.

The SEC could kick the Missouri Tigers’ tail.

I’m a big defensive guy. It’s very simple, really. I’ve seen too many big games that the best defensive team won. So have a lot of other people. They’ve coached in them, too.

“I believe in great defense,” said Florida coach Urban Meyer, whose sixth-ranked defense in 2006 throttled Ohio State in the BCS title game, 41-14. “I’m sure fans will argue that forever.”

Well, they can’t argue this: In the 10 years of the BCS, 20 teams have played in the national title game. Ten of those teams were ranked in the top six defensively, 14 in the top 10 and all but one in the top 23. Fourteen of the 20 teams had a higher defensive rating than offensive rating.

Now look at this week’s NCAA statistics. Read ’em and weep, Big 12. Nine of the top 24 defensive teams in the country are from the SEC. Not one Big 12 team is higher than 34th.

Sure, the reverse is true. Seven of the top 18 offenses are from the Big 12 and only three SEC teams are in the top 50. But have no doubt. Great defenses beat great offenses.

“I got a chance to watch Texas on film against Arkansas,” Meyer said. “Their quarterback (Colt McCoy) is a great player. But, at the end of the day — and there are exceptions — historically speaking, a great defense carries you to championships.”

Take last season. LSU and Ohio State were nothing special offensively. LSU was ranked 26th offensively, and Ohio State was 62nd. Combined, the teams had two players — LSU fullback Jacob Hester and LSU receiver Early Doucet in Round 3 — taken in the first six rounds of the NFL draft.

Yet they made the national title game. Why? LSU had the third-best defense in the NCAA, and Ohio State was No. 1. LSU won, 38-24.

“We played a lot of great offenses,” said Nebraska coach Bo Pelini, LSU’s defensive coordinator last season. “We were at the point where we could stop anybody, anywhere. It didn’t matter what style.”

The Big 12 will argue that the SEC’s defenses beefed up on hyphenated offenses from the Sun Belt and Southern conferences. Ahem: Missouri vs. Southeast Missouri State. Texas vs. Florida Atlantic. Oklahoma vs. Chattanooga. SEC quarterbacks aren’t very good? Well, have you seen Kansas State’s defense play this season?

Around these two leagues’ campfires, the marshmallows are distributed evenly.

Go beyond numbers. There’s a reason great defenses beat great offenses, and it’s more pronounced than why great pitching beats great hitting.

“Offense is harder because you have to be consistently good,” Texas coach Mack Brown said in Monday’s Big 12 conference call. “You can play consistent defense every week if you get guys excited. Offensive timing has to be so good. You have to take care of the ball.”

But, Brown added, waving the Big 12 banner, “What’s amazing about these quarterbacks is they’re so accurate. As long as the quarterbacks throw like they’ve been throwing, it’ll be hard for defenses to catch up.”

It’s hard making any comparisons now. In the only Big 12-SEC duel this season, on Sept. 27 Texas rolled 52-10 over Arkansas, which, not coincidentally, has the worst defense in the SEC at 61st in the NCAA.

Let’s just see what happens if top-ranked Texas, with the 39th-ranked defense, makes it to Miami against a Florida (No. 15) or Alabama (No. 16). The Big 12 will be whistlin’ “Dixie.”

Even billionaires having tough times

OK, now the economic crisis is getting serious. It’s affecting the arms race. In college athletics, that means facilities, and nowhere has it hit harder than at Oklahoma State.

The Cowboys’ massive renovation project, which includes an indoor football practice facility and baseball and softball stadiums, has been placed on hold. Two years ago, megabooster T. Boone Pickens, right, contributed $165 million to his alma mater but invested it in his BP Capital hedge fund.

You probably have an idea where Pickens’ hedge fund sits. According to The Associated Press, plummeting oil and natural gas prices have cost Pickens “well in excess of $1 billion.”

However, work on the west end zone project, which will include new offices and a training center, is continuing and still looks for a 2009 completion date. Construction on the other projects will continue when the economy improves, officials say.

John Henderson, The Denver Post

GAMES OF THE WEEK

Penn State at Ohio State

This should be for the Big Ten title and, if Penn State gets some help, could be for a BCS title berth. Ohio State’s run-to-pass stat has gone from 57-43 to 72-28 with Terrelle Pryor, right, at quarterback, but he’s so good it hasn’t mattered much.

Mountain West: UNLV at No. 18 BYU — Five of the past eight games in the series have been decided by 10 points or fewer. All eyes are on BYU to see how, or if, the Cougars rebound from having their nation-leading 16-game winning streak snapped.

COLORADO CONNECTIONS

Aztec warrior

Getting better with each game this season, San Diego State’s B.J. Williams has entrenched himself on the defensive line, but the sophomore from Eaglecrest High School missed last week’s debacle at New Mexico because of a concussion. He should play Saturday against Colorado State. Williams is making the most of his spot at rush end with a team-high 2 1/2 sacks and is fifth with 45 tackles, which matches his total from last season.

Ryan Cerise, Montana State: The junior from Cheyenne Mountain High School is getting time as a backup at defensive tackle and has one sack this season at Minnesota.

More in Sports

“This is one of the great jobs in all of sports,” Colorado AD RIck George said Sunday. “There's not a better job in America than here in Colorado." Translation: If you’re not here to win championships, pal, don’t join the party.

If recent history is any indication, Helton likely faces an uphill climb to become the first Colorado player inducted into Cooperstown because of the bias that voters tend to hold against hitters who spent their careers playing home games at elevation.

The inspiration for the nickname came from "the outdoors, the sunshine, that feeling you get when you live here in Colorado," Vibes general manager Chris Phillips explained during Monday's name unveiling.

In his long-running role as the Chargers’ yappy quarterback, Rivers is the football villain Denver loves to hate most. On this November afternoon, Rivers inexplicably decided to pick a fight with Harris, the Broncos’ shutdown corner.